DID BUSH TALK TO MEESE ABOUT POLITICAL FALLOUT?

Attorney General Edwin Meese met recently with Vice President George Bush, an aide said Saturday, apparently to discuss the political fallout from Meese's legal problems.

Democrats have used the Meese controversy to criticize Bush, the likely nominee for the Republican presidential ticket, over ethical lapses in the Reagan administration.According to Saturday editions of The Washington Post, the private Bush-Meese meeting occurred just before Meese fired Terry Eastland as his chief spokesman May 16. The Post said Meese told Bush he would not do anything to hurt his campaign, but acknowledged the legal controversy was complicating Bush's bid for the White House.

In an interview Saturday, Meese spokesman Pat Korten declined to comment in detail on the report and said the attorney general in the past several days "made a reference to having talked to the vice president, but it's not anything we care to discuss the content of."

Asked if Meese believes he has the support of the entire administration, Korten replied, "Of course," and the spokesman said meetings on Capitol Hill show support for Meese among members of Congress.

"He intends to remain as attorney general for the foreseeable future," Korten said.